Car Audio Systems

Posted by NSFLM.COM | Car Audio and Video | Thursday 2 July 2009 6:49 pm

It is hard to imagine an automobile without an audio system. Car audio systems are important to all car owners and a mind boggling range is available to choose from. A car audio system is a combination of components such as head units, amplifiers, speakers, and auxiliary input devices. All of these work to complement each other and have no meaning on a stand-alone basis.

The head unit of a system is like the brain and central processing unit. Control and tuning of the volume, bass, equalizer, etc., is done through this unit. There are different kinds of head units. Some allow you to play only tapes, CDs or the radio, while others allow all of these choices. Advanced devices can also hold many CDs at a time and allow shuttling between them. Speakers are obviously important if we want to hear anything. However, different kinds are available, like cone or ribbon type. All have their own advantages. The placement of speakers also makes a difference. Then there are amplifiers, which amplify or increase signals to make them audible. They too are available in different configurations, like mono, stereo or multi-channel.

Car audio systems can range from basic to very high end and funky models. A basic system costs less and can have good sound quality if components are of a standard make. Some decisions also depend on intended use. If you feel that you do not require a tape player but a CD player, then invest in a good-quality CD player rather than a cheap combination. For a basic system, you can go for only front speakers and avoid rear ones. Advanced models are available in compact sizes, with or without remote control and all other features one can imagine.

Depending on your budget and personal preferences, you can self-assemble a unit or buy an all-in-one system. Branded ones may be costlier but come with a guarantee and are easy to service. For some things like speakers, it is advisable to buy from standard, reliable and tested manufactures. If sound quality is low or harsh, then money saved is also wasted.

Car Audio provides detailed information on Car Audio, Discount Car Audio, Wholesale Car Audio, Car Audio Systems and more. Car Audio is affiliated with Car Stereo Installations.

Pioneer Car Audio MP3 What To Look For When Purchasing

Posted by NSFLM.COM | Car Audio and Video | Thursday 2 July 2009 2:49 pm

When choosing a pioneer car audio MP3 it?s important to address a few key questions. How much do you want to spend? What features are most important to you? An MP3 is a way to encode audio that compresses data so it can store a lot more of it while keeping a high standard of quality. Pioneer has a long-standing reputation for quality and also for being one of the easiest car audio systems to install and use. They make a range of car audio that can play MP3?s, including the lower end DEH-P3700MP for a little over $100 to the AVICD1 navigation system for about $1,600. If you are looking for a basic system to play CD?s and MP3?s, a simpler system will be fine. But, if you want more features like navigation or a DVD player you will pay a lot more for a higher end system.

One of the most important things to look for is how you are going to navigate through all of your MP3 files, especially while driving. If you have a large library of music, you will need to find an MP3 player that makes browsing through the discs as easy as possible. Many discs can hold up to about 250 songs, and it?s crucial that you can find exactly what you?re looking for as quickly as possible. One of the most reasonably priced MP3 player?s Pioneer makes is the DEH-P5500M, which costs around $270 and allows you to organize files by artist, track, folder name, file name, and album. It also has satellite radio and CD changer controls. It?s also imperative that you check that the discs you use on your computer for music are compatible with the ones for the MP3 player, otherwise you might end up with a library of music that won?t play in your car. ID tags to identify songs must be a certain version compatible with the car?s system, or you?ll end up with a lot of unusable music. If you figure out what you?re looking for, you can make an educated decision about which system will best suit your budget and your listening needs.

James Southall Jr. I have 10 years experience with the automobile industry I have worked on the volvo, oldsmobile, ford and the chevy from electrical and electronics to breaks and bumpers. http://www.audio-car-pioneer.com

Five Ways To Judge Your Car Stereo Speakers

Posted by NSFLM.COM | Car Audio and Video | Thursday 2 July 2009 10:49 am

Car stereo speakers are very vital for an efficient car audio system. Car speakers are unique in that they are designed for reproducing sound frequencies. You can evaluate your car stereo speakers on the following criteria:

?Frequency response of the speakers should be higher and wider for better sound capturing and reproducing

?Efficiency of the speakers determines the distance sound will travel and is measured in terms of decibels, the higher the better.

?For playing your system continuously, the factor to be considered is the maximum power RMS, i.e., the maximum powers speakers can produce continuously.

?A component speaker set will give a full range and quality of sound in your car and it will be a thrilling experience.

?The car stereo speakers should be power efficient so that it does not eat up the riding power of your car.

A car audio system is comprised of different components. Speakers for your car have unique characteristics to ensure quality audio sound in your car. They are much different from speakers you would buy for your home, office, or computer.

When shopping for speakers, be sure to listen to a variety. Each speaker will have its own sound. Therefore, with the above knowledge gear up your car with better car stereo speakers, which will enhance your musical experience and rock your car.

For more information, visit these sites: http://www.CarAudioInfoCenter.com or http://www.CarAccessoriesInfoCenter.com

The Sense Of Car Audio Equalizers

Posted by NSFLM.COM | Car Audio and Video | Thursday 2 July 2009 6:49 am

In order to answer the above question, one must seek to understand the limits of the human sense of hearing. Most people realize that the human ear fails to hear sounds that many animals can detect. For example, humans do not hear the noise made by a dog whistle, but a dog pricks-up its ears whenever a human blows into such a whistle. Those sound waves have a frequency that goes beyond the limits of what the human ear can hear. Many of the sound waves that remain undetected by the human ear can be detected by a sensitive car audio equalizer.

The frequency of a sound indicates the rate at which the sound making device is moving. A fast moving device makes a high frequency sound; a slow-moving device makes a low frequency sound. The human ear cannot hear the sounds with the lowest and the highest frequencies. The car audio equalizer has the ability to pick-up the signals from those sounds.

The owner of a car audio system wants an equalizer that can sense, that can pick-up or detect the signals from the high and low frequency sounds. Within the car audio system, the electrical signals leave the preamplifier and travel to the equalizer. In the car audio equalizer the signals loop around the processing unit and the frequencies of the signals are adjusted. The adjusted signals then travel back to the preamplifier. The preamplifier sends the adjusted signals to the amplifier.

In the amplifier, the power of the adjusted signals is increased. The high-power signals then cause the speaker to vibrate. The vibrating cone of the speaker causes it to emit sound. Because the signals have been adjusted by the car audio equalizer, all of the sounds coming from the speakers will be heard by the humans riding in the car with that car audio system. (No doubt, dogs in the car would hear those same sounds.)

Sebastian is the author of Car Sound Systems. If you want to know more about car sound systems, visit the site to read on.

Sirius S50: Combine Your Favorite Satellite Radio Programs With Your Favorite MP3s

Posted by NSFLM.COM | Car Audio and Video | Thursday 2 July 2009 2:49 am

Have you ever wanted to combine the benefits of commercial free satellite radio along with listening to your favorite MP3s, all while driving in your car? If so, Sirius Satellite Radio may offer the product that you?ve been looking for. While car receivers that allow you to listen to satellite radio and your favorite MP3 music have existed for some time now, a recent product released by Sirius Satellite Radio takes the satellite radio/MP3 combination to the next level.

The Sirius S50 is a satellite radio/MP3 player that you can listen to while you?re either riding in your car or sitting in the comfort of your home or office. The Sirius S50 comes with a car dock that connects the main unit to your vehicle. While the unit is connected to the car dock, you are able to listen to live Sirius Satellite Radio programming as well as any MP3s that you have stored on the 1GB flash memory unit. You can also pause and rewind the live satellite broadcasts as well as record up to 50 hours of your favorite Sirius Satellite Radio programming.

This unit also comes with a full color display which features channel logos and wallpaper so that you can easily identify the station that is currently playing. The neat My SIRIUS Channels feature automatically determines your three most listened to music channels and captures programming from each. Do you like to create playlists of your favorite MP3s? Well, you will find the Sirius S50 suitable to your needs as you can create playlists from your MP3s as well as from songs that you have recorded from your favorite Sirius broadcast channels. Additional features of the Sirius S50 include: game alerts that prompt you when your favorite teams are playing, a sports ticker with up to the minute scores, 30 channel presets, and a one touch channel jump button.

Along with the main unit itself, you also get a USB cable, earbuds, and PC software that allows you to download MP3s to the Sirius S50 from your PC. The software also supports streaming Sirius music channels over the Internet which is free with your Sirius Satellite Radio subscription. Currently the software is only available for Microsoft-based PCs, therefore all of you Mac users will have to go to your friend?s house to download your music if you decide to purchase the Sirius S50.

The really neat thing about this unit is that it also doubles as an IPOD-like MP3 player, as you are able to listen to your MP3s and pre-recorded Sirius channel programs with the earbuds that come with the unit. You can clip the Sirius S50 to your hip and listen to your favorite tunes on your way to school or work. The unit supplies up to 6 hours of playback on the rechargeable battery. If you?re in the market for an in-car satellite radio unit, you should definitely give the Sirius S50 a good hard look before you make your final purchase. While it may be a little pricier than your average satellite radio unit (Suggested Retail: $329.95), it really puts those extra dollars spent to good use.

Dwayne Wright is an automotive enthusiast with over 20 years of experience in the automotive industry. If you decide to upgrade your car audio system with a Sirius S50 satellite radio/MP3 player, visit his site at http://www.customautosearch.com to find a professional car audio installer in your area to install your new equipment.

Car Amplifiers Information You Shouldn’t Be Without

Posted by NSFLM.COM | Car Audio and Video | Wednesday 1 July 2009 10:49 pm

An amplifier takes a signal from a source and makes it larger. This makes the sound louder. The hard part is amplifying the signal without adding any distortion. Amplifiers must have a power supply strong enough to keep them going and must store enough current to deliver all of the transients in the music.

How they work

A cassette radio or CD player produces a maximum of about nine real watts into four speakers given the power it gets from the car’s electrical system. So what if you want more than nine real watts to power each of the speakers? You obviously need an amplifier. Amplifiers give more power allowing you to play your music more loudly. Amplifiers also improve the sound quality of music at all volume levels.

Features of Car Amplifiers

Here are some important facts you should be aware of if you want to choose the right amplifier…

?Bridging amplifiers are very flexible because they can be used in different system configurations. One amplifier can be used to power one, two, three or four speakers.

?Speaker-level inputs are the only way your amplifiers can get signals if your radio doesn’t have RCA-type output jacks.

?Preamp outputs are very useful when creating a multi-amplifier system because they allow an un-amplified signal to pass out of one amplifier to another.

?Remote bass control is available in some amplifiers that have a port to add an optional control knob. This varies the amount of power going to the subwoofer driven by the amplifier.

?High-pass filters, low-pass filters and crossovers give you the flexibility to remove the frequencies you don’t want to send to the speakers powered by the amplifier.

?Bass boost is available in some amplifiers. This lets you boost the bass significantly up to 18dB through a circuit.

An amplifier can have one channel of output or as many as eight channels. The most common amplifiers are two and four channel models but mono amplifiers are also becoming popular.

You can get great amplifiers and deals at CarAudioPlus. If you want to read more on car audio visit: car-audio-products-and-accessories.com

Chimezirim Odimba writes for CarAudioPlus.

How To Buy A Car DVD Player

Posted by NSFLM.COM | Car Audio and Video | Wednesday 1 July 2009 6:49 pm

In this 21st century just about every household has a DVD player in there house. Some have just the basic setup with a DVD player connected to a television, other go to the extremes and the latest technologies in home entertainment. Although this is common technology, the new and latest craze is to have a DVD player or entertainment system in your car. Now like any type of technology there are the small cheap systems and the large fully packed expensive systems. In this new craze what ever type of car DVD player you get, I can tell you that you will be in a movie viewer?s paradise.

In this 21st century just about every household has a DVD player in there house. Some have just the basic setup with a DVD player connected to a television, other go to the extremes and the latest technologies in home entertainment. Although this is common technology, the new and latest craze is to have a DVD player or entertainment system in your car. Now like any type of technology there are the small cheap systems and the large fully packed expensive systems. In this new craze what ever type of car DVD player you get, I can tell you that you will be in a movie viewer?s paradise.

How to Buy a DVD Player

1. Make sure you know what range of car DVD players you can afford. Not every person is going to be able to afford or want the top of the range high end systems. Work out what price you can afford and than work out after that what in that price range you want. Don?t do it the other way round and buy something you can not afford.

2. Buy one that is not going to out date easy. Although I said only spend what you can afford, try to get a system that is going to be in the past and of no use in the future.

3. Make sure that you take test DVDs and CDs with you. Like ordinary DVD and CD player there are different formats that can be played on them, some of the different formats are DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD-R, CD-RW and more. Make sure that you take a DVD and CD disc that you have created at home so that you can test to see if the player you are buying is going to play them.

4. Make sure that you install a car DVD player in the right spot. Before you go ahead and have a DVD player installed in your car, make sure that you inspect it to find out where the best position is put it. Getting an expert opinion can be helpful too.

5. Getting a good quality antenna is also a recommended additive if you want to be able to watch television on the player. Diversity antennas or dual-antennas are specially designed for this and will give you crystal clear television while you are on the road.

6. If you have a small budget buying an all-in-one DVD player is a great choice. These units are simple to use and are very portable. An all-in-one in one unit normally comes with the DVD player, speakers and screen all in one unit.

7. However if you have quite a large budget and are going for a component system you will be looking at have multiple screens and most of the components will be separate. These component systems normally have the sound component played directly into the car stereo and the option to use headphones. You will also see that most of these systems will have screens in the back of seat headrests and ones that pop up out of the dashboard. These systems are quite complex so I recommend that if you get one you shop around and get an expert option.

8. Lastly make sure that the electronics of your car are going to be able to handle a DVD player or systems. You will need a professional to determine this for you.

Jakob Culver is founder of the website ? http://electronicsexpressonline.com and has a solid background in electronics. To find out more information about this topic or electronics visit: http://electronicsexpressonline.com

How To Install An Amp

Posted by NSFLM.COM | Car Audio and Video | Wednesday 1 July 2009 2:49 pm

How to install an Amplifier:

1.) Disconnect the battery terminals: Just be safe. Do this.

2.) Run the power cable from the battery to the location of the amp or distribution block. (To read more about running wires, click here)

If you run it through any sort of sheet metal, be sure to protect the power cable with a rubber grommet, or some other protective device.

Be sure you have plenty of slack at both ends of the cable. This will make your life easier, trust me!

Be sure you run the power cable away from any RCA cables. I usually run the power cable down the side of the vehicle that the battery is installed on, and run the RCA cables down the center of the vehicle.

Once the cable has been run and secured, leave it alone for the time being. Don’t hook it up, cut it or do anything else with it!

Be sure the power cable is secured with wire ties or some other means, BUT! Not until you have run the cable, and determined that the cable is going to work out where it is located.

3.) Find a suitable ground point close to the amplifier

This point should attach to the vehicle’s chassis, and be a solid connection.

Run your ground cable from the amp (or distro block).

Just like with the power cable, this wire should be secured and protected. It should not be installed in a location that will distress it.

Use a piece of sandpaper to remove any paint or finish from your ground point. Use it to also sand away any rust or residue on your ground point. You want a good solid connection, so you’ll want to see nice shiny metal.

Prepare an appropriately sized ring terminal

If your ground cable is going to be attached with a ring terminal (the most recommended means), attach it now. Remember! Do a good job here. We’re looking for a strong, solid electrical connection. If you can use solder, I would recommend it!

Use a washer when attaching your ring terminal to your vehicle’s chassis.

Finally, cover the ground point with something non-conductive. Also, Find some spray paint or finish that will protect your ground point from rust.

4.) Be sure to run RCA cables and the remote turn on!

Pull your head unit out of its mounting location.

If it’s not already hooked up, hook up your remote turn-on wire to the head unit’s wiring harness.

Determine which RCA cables will go to each channel on your amp(s). I find it useful to have a 4-channel cable and an additional 2-channel cable for your subwoofers. This makes it easier to run all of the wires at once.

Run your RCAs and remote turn-on. Keep the RCA cables away from any sort of power cable, especially the power cable for your amp(s). It’s OK to run the remote turn-on wire with the RCAs.

Make sure all cables are secured and not installed in a way that will distress them. Be sure they aren’t pinched, scraped or kinked during any sort of driving activity. In any places where they’ll need protection, be sure to cover them with a tough material.

5.) Run all of your speaker wires.

Now it’s time to run more wires! Run speaker wires from your speakers to your amp’s installation location.

Just like with all of the different wires above, be sure they are secured and protected.

6.) Hook up all of the wires at the amplifier!

Hook up the RCAs, speaker cables, remote turn on, power then ground.

7.) Hook up a fuse holder near the battery.

Be sure you have this piece of equipment (and a fuse) before you even attempt to hook your amp up to your vehicle’s electrical system. Seriously!

The fuse holder MUST be within 18 of the battery.

Be sure the fuse holder is connected solidly to the power wire.

Be sure you have the right sized fuse!

Be sure the fuse holder is mounted in a safe place, and the power wires are all secured away from any moving parts.

8.) Hook up any special battery terminals

If you have any fancy-schmancy battery terminals, now is the time to be sure they’re connected properly. Be sure they are secure and protected. Hook up any other of your vehicle’s cables to the battery. If you can get covers for your new battery terminals, I would recommend them.

9.) Reconnect the battery.

Put your shiny new terminals on those battery posts!

10.) Test!

Before turning your system on, turn the amplifier gains all the way down. Turn on your system and listen. Does everything work? How much noise do you hear? Is there audible distortion (If so, don’t listen for long!) If everything’s square, move on to the next step!

11.) Permanately Mount your amplifier

I hope that before you have gone through the previous nine steps, you have thought about how your amp fits into your system, and how you plan to install it. If not, I BEG OF YOU to think about this first. Figure out where you want your amp, how you’ll get power to it, and what (if any) components will be installed near it. Also, don’t be a fool! Be sure you’ve budgeted so you can actually afford everything you need for your amp to be installed FLAWLESSLY. Taking just a small amount of time to think about this stuff will pay off for a smooth install, and great sound. If you don’t plan, you will screw it up.

When you mount your amp, you’ll want to be sure you are protecting it from any sort of physical damage and heat. Car amps are tough, but you need to be sure that you are installing it in a way that protects your amp from these hazards.

Soooooo, to protect your amp from physical damage (because they are usually installed in places where they are prone to damage such as in the trunk or under the seats), it is best to build some sort of enclosure for it. This enclosure should be big enough to contain the amp (and possibly some fans), as well as the appropriate wiring. You will also want to be able to easily access the controls. If you really like to tweak your system, you might want to make your amp rack easily removable, but also keep theft in mind. Be creative on how to protect it. The truth is, you can get really fancy here, or just do something quick. Both will work.

Another thing to keep in mind when building an enclosure for an amp or mounting the amp in a place that is hot or has poor airflow is that the amp will get HOT. Heat damages electronics, so you should figure out a way to keep your amp cool and happy. Use fans, or even redirect the air conditioner!

One last thing about amps: I have found that if your amp is mounted to metal, it is sometimes prone to noise. I recommend mounting your amp to a piece of wood before installing it. This will prevent any sort or weird ground loop effects that introduce noise to your music.

12.) Tweak!

Now that you’ve installed your amp(s), you’re pretty excited to get rollin. Step 1: Be sure all of the amp’s gains are down, the bass boost is off, and the crossovers are set to the correct frequency band.

Get one of your favorite CDs, preferably one that is clean sounding. I have found classical and jazz to work great, but alternative and pop work as well. Try to avoid really loud or bass heavy music. If you must, try to use a more melodic CD: Not one that’s just all bass, or noise, you know? The important thing is that the CD is representative of what you normally listen to, because it’s YOUR system, and it’s YOUR music. Darn tootin!

Step 2:Power on!

Step 3: Turn your head units controls to neutral. EQs off, loudness off, fade and balance centered.

Step 4: Turn the volume up until you hear distortion (you know it when you hear it, and go on to step 5), or the volume control is all the way up. (go to step 6)

Step 5: If you hear distortion, back the volume up until no more distortion is heard. At this point, you know how loud your system is gonna go before it starts distorting, sounding horrible, and smoking speakers. (Move on to step 7, and lower your volume!)

Step 6: If your head unit goes all the way up, and doesn’t distort, you have a good unit that your amp can handle. Go to your amp, and while the music is playing, slowly turn up the gains. Once you hear distortion, back off a little. Turn your head unit’s volume down!

Step 7: Now go to your head unit. Set all of the eq, loudness, crossover controls, and dsp that you want. Repeat steps 4-6 with all of these controls set to how you want them.

Step 8: Set all of your amp’s bass boost or other controls to how you want them. Repeat steps 4-6 again.

Step 9: Once everything sounds good, you’re ready to put a cover on your amp enclosure, and be sure your fans are hooked up properly. Put it away and forget it!

Step 10: You’re in business! Have fun, and don’t wake up your neighbors!

Alan Bayer is an entrepreneur and car audio enthusiast. He runs an eBay store selling car stereo install supplies:

http://stores.ebay.com/honest-aebs-autosound/

He also has a GREAT website with car audio articles (such as the one from above). Also on the website, learn about car audio equipment, how to find the best equipment, how to install it, and save big bucks in the process!

http://www.honestaebs-caraudio.com/

Custom Car Stereo

Posted by NSFLM.COM | Car Audio and Video | Wednesday 1 July 2009 10:49 am

In-car entertainment, especially an audio system, is one of the most customized components in an automobile. Many aficionados opt to replace their stock in-car audio system to add and improve functionality as well as enhance the sound quality for a superb audio experience inside the vehicle. Today, customizing car stereo systems has become a big business. Most enthusiasts want to build an excellent car audio system regardless of the cost. Customizing car stereos can be a very expensive project, but for those who value good acoustics, it is worth every penny.

When customizing a car audio system, the first component you should purchase is the head unit or the deck. The head unit is the main control center of the entire audio system, which usually includes a tuner, CD player, cassette player or a combination of these. Usually, the replacement head unit will not fit into the space where the existing unit rests, so you may have to buy a universal mounting kit. A universal wiring harness is also necessary to ensure easy installation.

Then you need to determine the kind of speakers you want. There are numerous types of speakers you can choose from, making it a bit difficult to make a decision. Be aware of how many speakers your head unit can handle. Two important things to check when buying speakers are power rating and size. Some owners prefer to put speakers in the trunk space.

Another important device in audio systems is the amplifier, which significantly improves the quality of the high volume sound of your system. The amp comes in a variety of sizes and capacities. Choose your amplifier depending on how much power you want for your sound system. Other accessories you can purchase include MP3 integration adapters, multiple CD changers, and bass boosters.

All these devices are available from audio equipment retailers. How much you spend depends on the brand and the quality of the equipment. When it comes to installation, it is better if you get the assistance of a professional to ensure that your custom car stereo is mounted and wired properly for best performance.

Car Stereos provides detailed information on Car Stereos, Car Stereo Systems, Car Stereo Installations, Car Stereo Speakers and more. Car Stereos is affiliated with Wholesale Car Audio.

How To Buy A CD/MP3 Changer

Posted by NSFLM.COM | Car Audio and Video | Wednesday 1 July 2009 7:13 am

Does the idea of cruising with a changer full of your home-recorded CD-R’s and CD-RW’s appeal to you? What if we talked about ten hours of great tunes as mp3 files on a single cd? You can drive for days on end without hearing the same song twice — just load a changer with mp3 discs.

This must be said: fumbling around for a misplaced CD while driving has caused a few accidents. CD and mp3 changers make it easier for you to stay focused on driving (no distraction of changing discs) without losing a moment of music. They have user-friendly controls that make it easy for you to navigate through tracks with your eyes on the road.

You can keep your discs safer and well-arranged in a changer. This also reduces the likelihood of misplacing any of them. Since they install in concealed spaces like the boot, under a seat, etc, they are less likely to attract thieves.

These prove that cd/mp3 changers are great for your car. However, it will be a lot more if you considered a few things.

Is it an original factory-installed radio you want to add a changer to? Then you’ll have to ensure you go for a vehicle-specific package that includes an interface adapter. These allow you to connect an aftermarket CD changer to your factory radio with CD changer controls. They also give you the added advantage of using your radio’s controls for the mp3/cd changer. And if your car has steering wheel radio controls, these will remain fully functional.

Are you adding a CD changer to an aftermarket radio, i.e. alpine, sony, etc? If, in your case, you have an aftermarket radio that has cd changer controls, you must get a changer of the same brand as your radio. This is something you must not forget: Your CD changer in this case must be of the same brand as your radio. Don’t forget!

Are you adding a CD changer to a radio that doesn’t have CD changer compatibility?

If you’re driving a leased car or classic you may not want to change the factory radio for a new in-dash radio. Fortunately, that doesn’t mean you have to give up the many advantages of a CD changer. With an FM add-on (or RF) changer package, you can get terrific-sounding results playing an add-on cd or mp3 changer through your existing FM radio. Furthermore, if your car has steering wheel radio controls, they’ll remain intact.

Manaufcturers have really gone overboard with features — Some can be confusing. However, here are some must-haves…

Shock protection: This means your CD/mp3 changer has the ability to read ahead and store a reasonable amount of music data. If a severe jolt causes a CD to skip, the changer plays from the stored reservoir until the data stream is re-established. This is a very useful feature for those of us who take our cars off-road.

CD-R/CD-RW compatibility: Make sure your changer can play these type of cds — Not all can. You’ll wonder why your pc plays a disc that you can’t enjoy in your car if your changer does not have this feature.

Mp3 decoding: If you want to play those music files you downloaded from the internet, you’ll need this feature. However, please, note that not all music files downloaded from the internet are mp3 files.

ID-3 tags: A changer’s ability to read ID-3 tags means that it will give you track details like artiste’s name, track title, track duration, and any other related information. This is especially useful if you’re playing mp3 files as a single disc can hold up to ten hours worth of songs.

Zero-bit detector mute circuit: You’ll like this if you like complete silence inbetween tracks. This feature shuts down the changer’s output once there is no signal.

Wireless Remote: This feature may or may not be so important depending on the presence of other features in your audio setup. This is very useful if you do not have steering wheel controls or if they are not functional. You’ll certainly find it a lot easier and safer to control your changer than otherwise.

This is a guide. You know what’s best for you. Choose what you may, but be sure of this: A CD/mp3 changer will certainly enhance your music experience on the road. A car cd/mp3 changer is certainly another audio level — The way to go.

Chimezirim Odimba writes for CarAudioPlus.

Visit car-audio-products-and-accessories.com to read more on CD/mp3 changers and other car audio articles. Check AddAcdChanger for your CD/mp3 changers.

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